North Saskatchewan, Laurier Launch

Back on the river last week and I decided to try my luck at the Laurier Park launch. This was a much nicer starting point than Hawrelak Park.

It was a beautiful night, with a hot sun and a light breeze. Paddled up to the the Quesnel bridge.

The River Queen is in dry dick on the beach below the Whitemud Creek snd the current was still pretty fast over on that side of the river.

I spent some time cycling in and out of the eddy behind this big rock. Usually this is in the middle a rock garden but the water was high enough I could float in pretty easily.

With the hot weather causing the river level to drop, I'm hopeful to put in at Fort Edmonton and paddle up to the foot bridge (or maybe the dog park) in September).

Jackfish Lake

Jackfish Lake is located just south-east of Stony Plain with access of Highway 770. Parkland County operates a day-use area on the east side of the lake that includes the boat launch, washrooms, and picnic tables. While access to the boat launch is free, the county charges $20 to park in the evening and on weekends.

The lake itself is reasonably pretty and clean. It is about four km north to south and maybe 2.5kms east to west but the irregular shape make the lake seem smaller and keeps the waves down. There are a lot of cabins on the lake and a fair number of boats (especially on the weekend).

This trip we went into the south end of the lake (we'd previously been to the north about five years ago). There were a large number of coves and reaches to paddle that kept us out of the wind.

The water was very clear. Parts of the bottom were sandy and parts were quite weedy.

I got to try out the new life jacket Jenn and Jess bought me (old one was 20 years old and smelled pretty bad).

Of particular interest is the main island which has boat-in cabins. How do you empty a septic tank on an island?

We had a better time this trip than last, mostly because there were fewer yahoos in boats. I suspect that a hot weekend would see the lake full of power boats, so timing the trip is important.

North Saskatchewan, Hawrelak Launch

Although I haven't been blogging about it (because we haven't been anywhere particularly new or interesting), we've been kayaking a lot this summer. The water finally dropped on the North Saskatchewan enough that I could get out.

Construction on the Groat bridge has backed my usual launch site at Emily Murphy so I tried the new launch at Hawrelak Park. It is so-so. Short carry (200 feet?). Bottom is rocky and seems to drop off. You launch right into a pretty stiff current, which isn't great for starting out paddling upstream. Not sure how the dock (if ever installed) will affect that.

I then paddled upstream on the south shore basically to the Laurier boat launch (so just below the end of the world look out). The first part (to the foot bridge) was a reasonably hard paddle. Once under the bridge, it got easier.

It was a beautiful night to be on the water.

I haven't paddled this stretch before and there are lots of interesting bank formations showing the various layers of clay and a bit of coal.

I also cut down some fishing tackle that was trapped on a tree. An upstream breeze came up on the way back and I had to paddle downstream against white caps! Think I would launch for Laurier next time. Nicer paddle.

Pierce Lake, Saskatchewan

Pierce Lake is located on the west end of Meadow Lake Provincial Park. We put in at Sandy Beach on the south-west corner of the lake. There may also be access in Howe Bay (we did not go here) or where Highway 950 crosses the creek connecting Piece Lake and Lepine Lake (this might be a scramble, though).

Sandy Beach has a boat launch, washrooms, fish cleaning shack, and a nice enough beach area. The lake was very clean, we launched off the beach, and we paddled east along the shore line for an hour or so. The water was clean and we could see the bottom at least 15 feet down.

The beach was smaller than at Kimball Lake. The swimming was very nice and the campground looks large. The store was not open when we were there. We probably wouldn't go back here as there are lots of other lakes of explore in the park and nearby and this was a bit of a drive (although we did see two bears on the drive).

Greig Lake, Saskatchewan

Greig Lake is a large lake located in Meadow Lake Provincial Park. The water is very clean but the edges are a bit swampy. The shore is a mix of sandy beaches and rocks.

There appear to be three main access points. On the east side, there is a boat launch in the Greig Lake campground (there is also a store at the entrance). The pictures also suggest a nice beach but I don't know about access for day paddlers.

On the south east corner (off Highway 224) there is a small day area which includes access to the lake (short carry over a berm). The third access point is at the Waters Edge Eco Resort on the west side, but access is restricted to guests.

We had a lovely time paddling here. The side of the lake means big waves in a blow. There was quite a lot of fishing and water spots on the lake, but its size meant that we never really saw anyone closer than 500 feet.

Kimball Lake, Saskatchewan

A vacation took us to Meadow Lake Provincial Park in Saskatchewan. Our first stop was Kimball Lake, which is rated as one of Canada's best beaches. Oddly, the lake did not appear on my GPS (although the road net to the campground did).

The best lake access is on the east side of the lake, just north of the campground. There is a boat launch a little bit to the north of the parking lot but the carry for the parking lot to the beach is about 100 feet and it was way nicer to launch off of the beach.

Boat launch as seen from the water.

We paddled up the north side of the lake to the west end. The bird watching was good: herons, eagles pelicans, and loons all put in an appearance. It was an hour or so to paddle the length of the lake, with several stops to rescue dragon flies.

We had fine weather and this was one of the nicest paddles I can recall.

Wr got the west end of the lake and found a beach (boat in only) where we stopped for a swim. The water is super clean and reasonably warm. It looks like you can get into the next lake with a short portage to the west.

The wind came up so we cut down the south side of the lake and made it make in half the time (there was a bit of chop!). We then sat on the public beach (below) and had lunch and swam.

The beach was pretty dead due to COVID. The store by the campground was closed (this was the case at all the lakes we visited), although the store at Grieg Lake was open. Would absolutely recommend this as a vacation spot. A bit of a drive from Edmonton (6 hours) but amazing beach and a decent looking campground.

Back on the Sturgeon

Spring has finally arrived, so Monday night we loaded up the kayaks and headed for St Albert.

The boat launch across from St. Albert Place was clear of ice (and people!) and the water was high so it was a lovely entry.

We saw lots of muskrat in town and a few other boats on the water.

We paddled past the rail bridge just before a big ice floe crashed into the bridge and blocked the channel back!

There were a few other big floes and I got to play around and steer one to the side.

The beaver were very active towards Gibbons Drive, with two beavers quite unhappy that we were paddling near the lodge. They swam around and slapped their tails multiple times.

We eventually turned around and floated back down as the clouds made the light way more dramatic. Lots of birds and waterfowl.

The bridge was still blocked when we got there.

We couldn't bust the ice floe free but we were able to paddle around through the pillings because the water was so high. That beat portaging.

On the way back, there was another beaver on the bank near St Albert Place (no picture).

Happy no people or phones got wet this time. It was great to be back on the water.

The North Saskatchewan has opened up but there is a fair bit of water, lots of floating ice, and the sides are too iced up for access. The city has also put the access point at Emily Murphy out of commission due to bridge repairs.